# Planning around events with the mrkts.gg calendar (Options 101, lesson 10 of 10)

Canonical URL: https://mrkts.gg/learn/options/event-planning
Last updated: Nov 9, 2026, 9:00 AM ET

> Plan an options position around earnings, CPI, FOMC, ex-dividend dates and expiration with the mrkts.gg calendars. A free lesson with examples.

What you'll be able to do: Before any options position, list the scheduled events inside its life (economic releases, earnings, ex-dividend dates, expiration) and explain each one's likely effect on price and IV, using the mrkts.gg econ, earnings and week-ahead pages.

## Risk shows up on a schedule

Scheduled events are where options risk concentrates. IV usually rises into expirations that cover an event and falls after it.

- Earnings: the date, and before the open (BMO) or after the close (AMC).
- Economic releases: CPI, jobs and FOMC, with times in ET. They move index options and many stocks.
- Ex-dividend dates: early-assignment risk for short calls.
- Expiration: pin risk and your broker's cutoff times.
- A same-day option still has event risk if a release lands before its close.

## Before the bell or after

| Before the open (BMO) | After the close (AMC) |
| --- | --- |
| The report comes out before the session opens | The report comes out after the session ends |
| Tuesday BMO: the last close before it is Monday's | Tuesday AMC: the last close before it is Tuesday's |
| Buying Tuesday morning is too late to hold through | Buying Tuesday afternoon still holds through |

> **Watch out:** Common mistake: ignoring BMO and AMC. Which close you buy at decides whether you hold through the report.

## IV rises into the event, then falls

The weekly option that includes the report prices the event, so its IV climbs into it and drops once the number is out. The next weekly doesn't include the event, so its IV stays lower.

*Chart (Implied volatility (%) against Days until the report, illustrative shape):* Illustrative IV for the weekly that includes a report. It climbs from 60% to 85% into the report and falls to 40% the day after.

## Build the checklist

1. Mark today and expiration at the two ends.
2. Add every economic release, earnings date and ex-dividend date between them, with times in ET.
3. Next to each, write what it could do to the price and to IV.

The mrkts.gg economic and earnings calendars and the week-ahead page give you the dates and times.

When you read down the finished list, every date has a time and an effect. If a row has neither, the plan isn't finished. The worked example after this lesson builds one for a 30-day position.

## What the calendar can't tell you

Each earnings page shows the implied move and how past moves compared. Sometimes the real move was bigger, sometimes smaller.

Buying right after the event avoids the crush, but the event move has already happened. That's a different bet, not a free one.

> **Watch out:** The calendar tells you when risk shows up, not which way the price will move. The implied move is what's priced in, not a forecast.

## Worked example: A 30-day position on stock ABC (dates are made up)

*Illustrative numbers, not real quotes.*

Build the list in three steps.

- Mark today and expiration at the two ends.
- Add every economic release, earnings date and ex-dividend date between them, with times in ET.
- Next to each, write what it could do to the price and to IV.

| Date | Event (from the calendar) | Effect on the position |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tue 8:30 AM ET | CPI | Index-wide move risk. Short-dated IV elevated into it |
| Wed 2:00 PM ET | FOMC decision | Same, plus the 2:30 PM press conference |
| Thu AMC | ABC earnings, implied move ±7% | Gap risk, then IV crush on Friday |
| Day 22 | ABC ex-dividend | Early assignment risk on a short ITM call |
| Day 30 | Expiration | Pin risk near short strikes. Close or roll before the cutoff |

One detail trips people up: which close is the last one before a report?

| Report time | Last close before it |
| --- | --- |
| After the close (AMC) on Tuesday | Tuesday's close |
| Before the open (BMO) on Tuesday | Monday's close |

- If you want to hold through a report, you must open the position by that close.

## Practice

The page has 7 practice questions and 5 mastery checks for this lesson, with feedback on each wrong answer: https://mrkts.gg/learn/options/event-planning

Last lesson. The final test: https://mrkts.gg/learn/options/final

Education only, not investment advice. Example numbers are illustrative, not real quotes.

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